Handy iron



G. T. GROSS HANDY IRON Filed DSC. 2l, 1948 Dec. 1, 1953 INVENToR. Gerrurle Z7 Grass BY ZW/L,

Patented Dec. 1, 1953 UNITED STATES FATENT OFFICE 6 Claims.

The present invention relates to what I term a handy ironer capable of applying to various articles either dry or vapor heat, as required.

The object oi my invention is to provide a portable hand applicable ironing device adapted for use in various iields of endeavor, for example: in the millinery art for pressing or steaming hats, ribbons, velvets, chiffons and the like; in the dressmaking art for steaming garments on bust forms, hangers or the like; in the mens apparel art for steaming neclcties on a rack or pressing garments; around the home for refreshing and removing wrinkles from slip covers, draperies and the like; and for personal use in steaming oil into the hair, steaming a cold and for applying Warm, moist applications to the face of other parts of the body.

The foregoing and other objects of my invention not specifically described I accomplishr through the novel handy ironer which is hereinafter described and illustrated in the drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 shows an axial section through a device embodyinet my invention.

Fig. 2 shows a section taken along the plane of the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. y

Fig. 3 shows a section on a greatly enlarged scale taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

The handy iron of my present invention may be said to consist of a hollow casing Iii, a liquid reservoir I i, an electrical heating element I2, vapor pressure chambers I3 and I4, and a handle I5, the said parts being coordinated and assembled to provide a portable device.

The casing I9 may be formed of any suitable i material, preferably metal having an outer polished surface and, as herein shown, consists of two sections Iiia and Ib, the section Illa being of generally conical form and the section I b being of substantially semi-spherical form and being connected to the section lila by a lap joint I5 and suitable securing means I'I. The section Ia at its apex end is preferably of semi-spherical form and is formed with a plurality of spaced openings I8 through which vapor under pressure, for example, steam, may escape from the vapor pressure chambers.

The liquid reservoir Il, which may be of any desired configuration, is disposed within the casing and is herein shown as being of substantially truncated conical form having a flat top I9 and a ilat base 2, the latter being provided with a packing disc 2l carried in a closure cap member 22. The liquid reservoir has a, plurality of openings or ports 2 3 formed in its wall, eight such ports being herein shown and each of said ports is controlled 'by a lapper or cantilever spring valve 24 which is normally open but of a character such as will close under the pressure of water within the reservoir acting thereagainst. The ports 23 and valves 2li are so disposed within the reservoir that, regardless of the position in which the device is held, some of said ports will remain open to provide for the escape of vapor generated within the liquid reservoir into the vapor chamber I3.

The vapor pressure chamber I3 is constituted by the liquid reservoir II and a casing 25 surrounding and spaced from said reservoir. The chamber I3 may be held in iixed relation to the reservoir AiI in any preferred manner and, as herein shown, the reservoir I I is formed with spaced longitudinally extending ribs 26 which at their outer ends may be secured to the casing 25 by spot welding, soldering or equivalent means.

yAt its inner end the vapor pressure chamber I3 is sealed by the packing 2| within the closure cap 22 which simultaneously seals the liquid reservoir II. At its outer end the vapor pressure chamber I3 connects with the vapor pressure chamber I4 through a vcoil 2l. The vapor pressure chamber I4 is held within the casing I0 by screws 28 engaging within the openings I8, said screws 28 each having an axial passage 29 extending therethrough and the heads of the screws being flush or seating below the surface of the casing I0.

Disposed within the casing so as to surround thevapor pressure chamber I3 and the coil 21 is the electrical heating unit I2 which maybe of any approved or desired construction and said vunitis preferably in contact with the outer wall Iof the casing 25 so as to supply heatrdirectly to the liquid reservoir by conduction through the contacting surfaces of said reservoir and casing 25. If desired, vadditional electrical heating means I2a may be disposed at the base of the liquid reservoir to supply additional heat thereto. The electrical heating elements I2 and I2a have leads extending through the casing to contact pins 36 designed to accommodate a conventional electrical plug.

For supplying liquid to the reservoir II there is provided a filler tube 3| which extends through the handle I5 into the reservoir II and is connected to said parts in any desired manner, for example, to the reservoir by means of a Screwthreaded connection between the inner end ofthe tube 3I and a nipple 22a on the closure cap 22 and to the handle by a set screw I5a and a closure plug 32. Preferably a spacer disc 33 is disposed around the filler tube between the electrical heating element i2a and the casing section IUb and a heat guard 3d is disposed between the casing section 10b and the inner end of the handle I5. A suitable packing 35 is disposed between the end of the handle I5 and the closure plug 32 to insure against leakage of liquid from the reservoir.

In order to .prevent the building up of .excessive pressure within the liquid reservoir, in the event that any of the valves 24 may stick in closed position, a relief valve 35 of any preferred construction may be mounted therein and extend through the casing Section l b.

In the use of the device the closure plug 72 is removed and a desired quantity of liquid, less than required to ll the reservoir, :such as water, or water containing additives where the device is to be used for steaming oil into the hair or generating a medicated vapor, is introduced into the liquid reservoir and the .closure plug replaced. Of course any type of check valve (not shown) Ymay be mounted within the filler tube 3i near the inner end thereof to prevent the liquid from the reservoir moving backwardly into the filler plug and for preventing generated vapor entering the ller tube and unduly heating the same. Upon connecting .electric current to the Contact pins 30, electrical energy is supplied to the heating elements and, in turn, heats the liquid within the reservoir, generates vapor which passes vthrough the Vopen ports controlled by `the -valves 24 into the vapor pressure chamber I3, from Vthere through the ,coil 27 to lthe vapor pressure chamber i), and thenout through the axial passages 29 in `the screws 28. During and prior to this vaporizing action of the liquid in the reservoir the casing l0 will 'be heated and thus serve as a pressing Vor smoothing iron vfor the purposes intended, which pressing operation, when supplemented by the escaping -Jvapors 'through the openings 29, will operate to carry out the functions of the handy iron.

From the foregoing detailed description it will be appreciated that I 'have provided a relatively simple and compact device `capable of performfing all the objects 'set forth the opening statement of this specification, and while I'have shown and described a preferred embodiment of `my handy iron, it is to ibe understood that changes -in construction and -arrangement of parts thereof may be resorted to within the range of engineering and mechanical skill without ydeparting from the spirit of the invention as .dened in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. An ironer comprising a hollow elongate casing having a curved .outer ironing surface, `,a lquid reservoir ywithin the casing and spaced therefrom, electr-ical heating means in .the space ibetween the lliquid reservoir and the casing, a vapor pressure chamber within one end of the vcasing, val-ve :means adapted to admit vapor generated within the liquid reservoir into the vapor pressure chamber, the `casing having ports `leading from the vapor pressure .chamber vto the outer surface of the casing, and a hollow handle at the end of the casing remote from the end in which the vapor pressure chamber is located, said hollow handle leading to the liquid reservoir and providing means through which liquid may be introduced into the liquid reservoir.

2. An ironer according to claim 1 wherein the vapor pressure chamber is an element separate from the casing, and said vapor pressure chamber and the casing have communicating ports in `contiguous parts thereof, the ports in the casing leading to the atmosphere.

3. An ironer according to claim 1 wherein the casing has an outer curved surface of generation and the handle is disposed coaxial with the casing.

4. An ironer according to claim 3 wherein the casing is of generally conical form and the handle is disposed at the base end of the casing and coaxial therewith.

5. An ironer comprising a hollow casing having an outer curved surface of generation, a liquid reservoir within the casing and substantially concentric therewith, said liquid reservoir 'having spaced apart walls, Aelectrical heating means between the liquid reservoir and the casing, vapor pressure conning means Within the casing, said `confining means comprising a chamber within one end of the casing, a second chamber provided by the spaced apart walls of the liquid reservoir and a helical Icoil connecting the two chambers, and valve means controlling ports in the liquid reservoir leading to the chamber provided by the spaced apart walls of the liquid reservoir for admitting vapor generated in the reservoir into said last mentioned chamber.

6. An vironer comprising la hollow casing having an outer curved surface of generation terminating at one end in a substantially hemispherical portion, a liquid reservoir within the casing coaxial with and spaced therefrom, electrical heating means in the space between the liquid reservoir and the casing, a vapor pressure chamber within the hemispherical end portion of the casing, valve means for admitting vapor generated within the liquid reservoir into the vapor pressure chamber, and the casting having ports leading from the vapor pressure chamber to the 4outer surface of the hemispherical portion.

GERTRUDE T. GROSS.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date "Re.2'1,632 Jones Nov. 26, 1940 1,522,379 Martens Jan. 6, 1925 1,736,148 Brewer Nov. 19, 1929 1,851,777 Schwartz May 29, 1932 2,076,721 Healey Apr. 13, 1937 2,227,662 'McHarg Jan. 7, 1941 2,296,814 Ebert Sept. 22, 1,942 2,322,103 Altman et al. June 15, 1943 2,427,521 Butman Sept. 16, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS VNumber Country Date 49,229 Denmark Sept. 3, 1934 

